Isaac Icarus
“They call it the city of tomorrow. In most cities around the world, the only people who ever look up are the tourists. In Arendur, everyone looks up.” -Isaac Icarus History One of the first foreigners to settle in Arendur during Jotunheim's Rebellion, Isaac Icarus was a young and ambitious man with a mind suited for engines and machines. He quickly rose to wealth and prominence, becoming Arendur's first major industrialist. It was he who designed Arendur's trains, and grain harvesting machines, as well as the aquerbuses used by the Arendurian Army. By the time of the Great Crusade, Isaac Icarus's business empire was a force to be reckoned with, such that he was considered the first among equals and de facto leader among the city's merchant class. He was approached by Tolumvire of Arendur at the start of the Arendur-Ragnarok War, and tasked with modernizing the Arendurian Army and creating great and terrible engines and weapons for the battles to come. During the fall of Arendur, he organized the evacuation, saving hundreds of lives. Following Tolumvire's exile, Icarus expanded his holdings, making a profit from his government contracts and operating with greater impunity. He began the utilizing slave labor, and created an assembly-line model of production that no competitor could hope to match. Upon his return from exile, Tolumvire would note that Icarus had grown more powerful and self-assured then ever before, and that he had ceased to answer to any authority. Though he did not trust him, Tolumvire appointed Icarus to his ruling council, naming him Minister of Industry and Commerce. He would go on to be named Arendur's second representative to the Holy Council, alongside Tolumvire himself. In one particularly bizarre turn of events, Icarus' identity was stolen by an unnamed gunslinger, who managed to masquerade as him for a short period of time. The two would duel in the Tower of the Illuminated, and Icarus would find himself cursed to inhabit the body of an ogre. He would flee Arendur, and survive the destruction of the empire. Personality Courteous and composed, Isaac Icarus kept his own counsel. He shunned fame, and was never particularly close to the rest of the merchant class, who saw him as aloof and ambitious. Icarus was a solicitous host and guest, with a gift for putting others at ease. Rarely, his composure would crack, revealing a cold-hearted man consumed by ambition and greed. In truth, Icarus trusted no one, and used others as tools. His superiors he would flatter, his equals he would ignore, and his inferiors would suffer under an iron fist. War of the Philosopher-Kings Determined to seize his previous holdings, Icarus and the followers he had accumulated following his exile would return to New Arendur. Icarus would offer his services to the Illuminated, who needed all the help they could get. He would rebuild his business empire, and was one of the fiercest advocates for entering the War of the Philosopher-Kings. As he had with the Great Crusade, Icarus produced armaments for the Arendurian Army, and forged many engines of war. It was said that Brennen of Alara once remarked save for himself and Rick of Aglazdere, there was no better artificer alive, and that if he ever sacked Arendur, he would take Icarus captive. After the War Icarus would go into hiding in the bowers of Arendur after the war, and the Hexenjägers put a bounty on his head. His business holdings were seized, but as time passed, the Office of the Gauleiter decided that it had more pressing problems to attend to. Icarus would re-exert control upon his mines and refineries, building many scientific devices for which the Hexenjägers were grateful. It was said that Isaac Icarus, by now aged and decrepit, kept alive with life support cybernetics, was behind the design of the bridge to Forester's Town, several of the guns in the Department of Munitions, and the half-century dirigible renovations. Quotes "Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man in Forester's Town, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says the man in the Church, 'It belongs to the King in Yellow.' 'No!' says the man in Reich, 'It belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... New Arendur, a city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, New Arendur can become your city as well." "We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us." "There is something more powerful than each of us: a combination of our efforts, a "Great Chain" of industry that unites us. But it is only when we struggle in our "own" interest that the chain pulls society in the right direction. The chain is too powerful and too mysterious for any government to guide. Any man who tells you different either has his hand in your pocket - or a pistol to your neck." "In the end what separates a man from a slave? Money? Power? No, a man chooses, and a slave obeys!" "What is the difference between a man and a parasite? A man builds. A parasite asks 'Where is my share?' A man creates. A parasite says, 'What will the neighbors think?' A man invents. A parasite says, 'Watch out, or you might tread on the toes of the gods... '" "I once bought a forest. The parasites claimed that the land belonged to the gods, and demanded that I establish a public park there. Why? So the rabble could stand slack-jawed under the canopy and pretend that it was paradise "earned." When the Senate moved to nationalize my forest, I burnt it to the ground. The gods did not plant the seeds of this paradise - I did." "What is the greatest lie every created? What is the most vicious obscenity ever perpetrated on mankind? Slavery? The War of the Philosopher-Kings? Dictatorship? No. It's the tool with which all that wickedness is built: altruism. Whenever anyone wants others to do their work, they call upon their altruism. Never mind your own needs, they say, think of the needs of... of whoever. The state. The poor. Of the army, of the king, of the gods! The list goes on and on. How many catastrophes were launched with the words "think of yourself"? It's the "king and country" crowd who light the torch of destruction. It is this great inversion, this ancient lie, which has chained humanity to an endless cycle of guilt and failure." Category:Arendur Category:Artificers Category:Shield Campaign